Indian Kashmir barrier

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The Kashmir barrier runs through the Line of Control which separates Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The Kashmir barrier runs through the Line of Control which separates Indian-administered Kashmir from Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The Indian Kashmir barrier is a 550 km (330 mile) separation barrier along the 740 km disputed 1972 Line of Control (or ceasefire line) between Indian and Pakistani controlled Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan Administered Kashmir[citation needed]. The rest of the Line of Control is too inaccessible for construction of a barrier. The fence, constructed by India, is well inside territory on the Indian-controlled side. Its stated purpose is to exclude arms smuggling and infiltration by Pakistani-based separatist militants, who wish to merge Kashmir into Pakistan, or gain independence for Kashmir as a whole[citation needed].

The barrier itself consists of double-row of fencing and concertina wire eight to twelve feet in height, and is electrified and connected to a network of motion sensors, thermal imaging devices and alarms in stretches where power supply is available. The small stretch of land between the rows of fencing is mined[citation needed].

The construction of the barrier was begun in the 1990s, but slowed in the early 2000s as hostilities between India and Pakistan increased. After a November 2003 ceasefire agreement, building resumed and was completed in late 2004[citation needed]. According to Indian military sources, the fence has reduced by 80% the numbers of militants who routinely cross into the Indian side of the disputed state to attack soldiers.[1]

Pakistan has objected to the construction of the barrier, saying it violates both bilateral accords and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions on the region. In Pakistan's view the border between Jammu and Kashmir is undemarcated, and border fencing is not allowed[citation needed].

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[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Harsh weather likely to damage LoC fencing. Daily Times. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
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